Unshed Tears
by yuii-chan
Summary: Jealousy, Anger and Tears born from LOVE. Could you possibly understand their feelings? A love desired, or a love too much to bear? RyoX?/KamioX?/MomoX?/KikuX?/ShishidoX? - how will the drama unfold? CHAP 1: Who is IT?


The birth of this fic – came unexpectedly.

_A/N_: Okay, to tell the truth, I was browsing around randomly the other time and I saw a lot – and I mean A HELL LOT of shounen-ai POT stories. And my brain goes: _WHAT? HOW COME I DON'T HAVE ONE? (though I know for sure you don't need this coz there's tons out there just the same) _And there you have it. It was born out of pure jealousy. I used to tell myself that I'd really like to write a shounen-ai POT fic, but never had the motivation to do so until--

Yes, that fateful day. That fateful day where I was browsing and _bla bla bla._ End of story.

For some readers, I doubt you'll like what you read but for one, what's stopping you?

Let the emotional roller coaster start.

**Chapter 1—Who is **_**IT**_**?**

"Hey Kamio, go fetch the ball!"

"WHAT!? Teme Momoshiro, I'm not your dog!"

"What does it matter? You're nearer to it anyway."

"Damn, if Shinji is around I wouldn't even have asked you for a game." Kamio mumbled.

"I heard that." Momo winked cheekily. "And it seems like hardly anyone comes for street tennis these days."

"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't be stuck here with you."

"One more round and you're down."

"Don't be so sure of yourself! I'm about to increase my speed!" Kamio panted heavily. He's pretty wiped out.

"Come on—"

"MOMOSHIRO-KUN! KAMIO-KUN!"

From far, two figures became more visible as they approach the court.

"Sengoku-san! Ohtori-kun! Practicing together?" Momo asked in a jovial tone.

The shy Ohtori merely nodded.

"It's nice weather today. Yesterday was wet, and the court's slippery. They had it cleaned this morning, so we thought we'd be out for a game or two." Sengoku explained.

Kamio had his head hung low.

"How nice! Ah, wished that I had someone I could practice together regularly. Then I won't be stuck with Kamio hahahahaha!"

"Momoshiro! You—" Kamio's face is red with anger and embarrassment.

"What?" Momo responded innocently. Kamio couldn't find words to express his frustration.

"YOU! DIE!" Kamio rushed forward with great speed. Momo who sensed this coming—ran off as fast as he could. And when Momo turned behind a tree, they were invisible to Sengoku and Ohtori.

Ohtori let out a small chuckle.

"Hm?"

"No… I mean, they look cute together." Ohtori replied.

"They do. But I wonder if their relationship is what we think they are."

"Eh? Not in that way?"

"You mean, not like us?" Sengoku gave a hearty laugh.

"Sengoku-san!" Ohtori's face turned red beet. His Yamabuki lover then pats him on his head.

……

"Momoshiro, STOP!"

Kamio fell to the ground and lied down. He was dead tired. How he wished he hadn't chased Momoshiro all the way here. If only he could spend a few more minutes back at the court… would he have noticed?

Momo turned. When he saw Kamio on the ground, he walked towards the Fudoumine member.

"That's it? Isn't it too early to give up?" Momo sat beside him.

"Yeah… because I want to do THIS!" and Kamio whacked Momo hard.

"OOOOW! Have some mercy, would you!?" Momo shrieked. "I was just helping you out!"

"What?" A bewildered Kamio asked.

"Nothing." Momo said and lied down on the grass.

"MOMOSHIRO!" Kamio stood up angrily. It couldn't be… he couldn't have found out. No way. He had hid it so well all these time. Why now?

Momo sat up. "I have noticed it all these while. You can't act you know. It's written all over your face."

Kamio's face turned pale.

"Hey, you alright? You don't have to be so worried though. I don't think they ever noticed because they had been in their own "little world" since they started going out."

Kamio broke down.

"Ka-ka-Kamio! What happened!? Don't worry; I wasn't planning on telling anyone!" Momo panicked. He never had any girls cry in front of him, much less a boy – what to do in this situation?

"Hey I mean, like, there's nothing special about him isn't it? Er if you like guys with orange hair, I'll find one for you."

Kamio sobbed even harder.

Momoshiro's spirit fell. How to console him?

"LET'S GO TO THE RESTAURANT! I KNOW A GREAT ICE-CREAM STORE!"

And he pulled the surprised brown hair boy towards the street.

--_**chapter break**_--

"What's wrong Echizen? It's just an interschool practice."

"Fuji-senpai… I…"

"Yes?"

"… … no, nothing." He still couldn't bring it up. As a matter of fact, he can't tell anyone about it. He can't even make up an excuse to not go for practice today.

"Momo's pretty hyped up though. He likes it when we're going to Rikkaidai."

"Definitely-nya!"

"Same goes to you Eiji. You're in a good mood every time we're here." Fuji replied.

Kikumaru panicked. "Wh-what are you trying to say-nya!? I'm just happy that we are making improvements from this practice!"

"Marui had been Momo's opponent since last month, isn't it?" Oishi joined in "I think they match each other pretty well."

All eyes stared at Oishi.

"Huh?" Oishi blushed. "No, NO! I'm not referring to "that" sort of 'match'! I'm—I'm just referring to them as good opponents as in a game! Nothing more of that sort!"

Inui scribbled something into his notebook.

"I-N-U-I! What is there to write about!?" Kikumaru exclaimed.

"Well, I simply cannot neglect a single detail. You'll never know when it'll be useful."

The others shrugged in annoyance. They are used to it anyway.

--_**chapter break**_--

"I can feel it... _again_." The boy mumbled quietly.

It wasn't the first time. It started several weeks back – when practice was combined with the other school. At first he thought it was an illusion… nothing more than his own self-consciousness, but soon it became more and more unbearable. He is very sure that it wasn't done by any of his team mates or seniors because during normal practice hours in his school, everything was fine. His senpais would look at him sometimes – to check for improvements or mistakes. Those were gazes of admiration and ease – and he doesn't mind them a bit. But every time he's here… there's that glazing, burning sensation on his back. Who could that be? Why is this person holding such a grudge against him? He'd been trying to find out for a long time, but every time…

Ryoma turned.

The Rikkaidais were laughing on the other side - about a joke that Marui made. No one seemed to be looking at Ryoma, much less pay any attention to him. But he's convinced that it's someone from the Rikkaidai team. Otherwise, why'd he felt it every time he's here?

"O-chibi?"

"Ah, yes, senpai?" The startled Ryoma turned his attention back to his team.

"Are you alright? You seemed to be staring at the Rikkaidais... AH! I KNOW! You're doing image training!"

Ryoma's face fell. His senpai always manage to come up with his own answer to his own question. Oh well good thing Eiji-senpai didn't notice his weird behaviour.

"Echizen, you're playing against Kirihara isn't it?" Momo asked.

"Hm…" The boy nodded solemnly. The stare had stopped, but it's still disturbing. Is this some kind of strategy to bring him down in his performance? If it is, then he definitely deserves an ace because it's starting to work.

"What's with you these days? Don't look so disappointed! Bet you want to play against Sanada, don't you?" His senpai grinned.

With the mention of Sanada's name, Ryoma turned to look at him.

But Sanada had his eyes closed tight. He's trying to concentrate. Focus.

In a way or another – Ryoma had a feeling it wasn't Sanada. So who is it?

PFFFT!

Both the teams stopped chattering at once. They came upfront to the centre of the court where Tezuka and Yukimura greeted each other.

"Shall we start with our first pair?" Yukimura asked. And when Tezuka nodded, they both called for their first player.

"Jackal."

"Oishi."

Both stepped forward and shook hands.

"As all of you know, this is a practice match. We are doing warm-ups in the first round." Yukimura explained.

The 'warm-up' as mentioned - is not their regular warm up exercise. Both Jackal and Oishi were ordered to strap their hands and legs (like cuffs on both their hands and feet) which basically restricts their movement. They could not stretch the rubber string any more than allowed.

"I have been thinking…" Inui began. "… that we should do something about this."

"What do you mean?" Fuji asked.

"Nothing… it's just that this is the 4th round of practice with Rikkaidai and although both sides showed some improvements - they are rather slow. I'm thinking of a way to speed them up."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! INUI! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING-NYA!"

And so does the rest of the team. All showed their share of protest except for Fuji.

"What's happening over there?" Jackal asked in puzzlement.

"I don't know… but they seem to be angry at Inui for some reason. I hope he's not thinking of creating any weird inventions for these practice matches hahahaha." Oishi laughed nervously. Not having a clue about Inui's weird hobby, Jackal dismissed the matter.

"Ready?" Both nodded to Tezuka, who announced, "Start!"

Both started off clumsy because they couldn't control their own movements, but after several rounds - with ranking on the same level, Jackal had started to get familiar to the strap and how he could use it to defend Oishi's strokes. The Seigaku vice-captain on the other hand, still find his movements restricted.

As the warm-up grew into a tension match, the others watched with intense.

THERE IT GOES AGAIN

Someone is watching him! No, it's not watching, it's STARING. And the stare grew intense like the game does. Ryoma could feel every inch of his body ransacked by the phantom (as he called it), and cold sweat trickled down his spine.

All of a sudden, he is paralyzed. His immerse concentration on the practice a minute ago is now gone. He couldn't move his body. He became still as a log. It was indescribable fear. He couldn't even fight it, and there was nothing he could do. He was screaming for help inside but no one seemed to hear him.

And then it finally stopped.

A wave of relief swept over him. When the boy glanced at his watch, he noticed that what seemed like eternity – was only 2 minutes ago. He had lost track of the game and he didn't even realize he was breathing heavily, until a concerned Fuji pat him on his shoulder.

"Echizen?"

Ryoma could not utter a word. He merely shook his head as a sign he's okay.

"—a good practice nonetheless." A sweaty Oishi hi-fived Kikumaru. The others surround him.

"Hm… Oishi, if you return Jackal's ball with lighter hits, you may be able to control the ball's direction better." Inui analysed.

"You're right, if only there were more time to experiment on it!"

And so they continued the conversation until Kaidoh was called to the court next. His opponent was Yagyuu. A very unlikely pair but everyone was interested to know how both will fare with this difficult obstacle.

"Ochibi are you sick? Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Kikumaru asked when he spots Ryoma looking so sick he's about to drop dead.

The boy simply shook his head once again.

He shuddered at the thought of being alone in Rikkaidai's infirmary. What if the "phantom" shows up? As for who might be the phantom, it didn't matter now.

Yes, he sure is curious at the start – but heck, not now. He had a premonition. A terrible premonition that when he found out the identity of the "phantom", everything's going to end. No, not the happily-ever-after fairytale ending, but a dead-end sort of ending. He'll be caught. He won't be able to escape. He can't even break lose of that intense stare that paralyzed him! And mind you, it was merely a STARE. The "phantom" did nothing more than that and he already couldn't fight it.

"Echizen, I think it's better if you go to the infirmary. You don't look well." Momo said.

"I'm fine." His voice croaked shakily.

"You are not fine. What happened? Do you have a fever?" Oishi caved in closer to him and placed his right hand on Ryoma's forehead.

"Hm… I don—" Oishi turned backwards in an instant. He withdrew his hand from his junior.

"Oishi?" Kikumaru called out to him.

"No… nothing… I thought I felt something…" Oishi replied nervously. He felt a murderous presence back then… was it just an illusion?

Ryoma became unsettled when he heard Oishi.

Did senpai felt the same thing too? The stare?

When Oishi did not elaborate further, Ryoma did not question him either.

"You don't have a fever but you look really sick. Are you sure you are fine?"

Ryoma nodded. All he said was, "I want to watch the practice."

The rest of the team, including Oishi, knew well enough the stubbornness of their baby boy. They couldn't resist smiling when they heard his reply. It's something you can expect from Echizen, as they put it.

"Alright, you can stay here and watch but I don't think you are fit for practice. I will inform Tezuka about this. And no, if you are to protest, I'll ask Momo to drag you to the infirmary right away." The vice captain ordered when he saw Ryoma's mouth opened a little at the mention of the first phrase.

"Gladly." Momo grinned.

Left with no alternative, Ryoma sulked quietly. It's all the phantom's fault. He had looked forward to trying the strap… and had actually devised several techniques on the possibility of overcoming the "restriction of movement & control" as they called it.

Kawamura sat beside Ryoma and cheered him, "It's alright to sit out this one time. We can get Inui to try it next time we have our own practice."

The small boy nodded solemnly in response. What is there to anticipate when he couldn't join? He is not sick, and why couldn't they see that?

On the opposite side, Kirihara looked appalled when Yukimura informed him that Ryoma couldn't join the practice. And there he was minutes ago, looking forward to play against Seigaku's proud pillar of support. What could have gone wrong between then and now? When he saw the Seigaku team came over in the afternoon, the chibi looked fine like everybody else. Kirihara shift his attention back to the court. Better luck next time…

As for Ryoma, he watched on with envy as Kaidoh struggled with his strap and opponent.

--_**chapter break**_--

It could have been the tenth time he is doing this.

"… yes… no… yes… no… yes… no… yes………NO!" Kikumaru shouted angrily. "I don't believe this. It's not accurate, so I'm going to do it again."

He plucked another flower and started peeling its petals. "Yes… no… yes… no… yes… no… YES!"

The red hair boy rejoiced under the sky. The ground is covered with yellow withered flowers' petals.

"It's a YES-nya! He'll say YES!"

The garden is deserted except for several young boys chasing each other in a game. Birds were chirping happily at the bird bath and Kikumaru lay down on the comfortable grass. Ah… it felt so good. The smell of earth and fresh air. When was the last time he'd felt this happy? Perhaps when he had an infatuation towards him… it all started on that particular Sunday when Momo couldn't make it to the karaoke with him. The rest had their own plans, so they decided to enjoy themselves by singing.

"Senpai, I'm so sorry! My sister left her costume at home; I had to bring it to her and my parents made me stay to watch her performance. I'm very sorry!"

And so that was that. Kikumaru was already on his way.

"It's okay, I was thinking of buying something and then head back. Yeah… alright, hey, good luck to your sister-nya!"

Momo's sister is in the school drama team. She's a cute little girl – though tomboyish with crew cut. Some may say she's only 11 and it's the best time around, but things are different with her. She's against most boys, including her brother and the bunch of naughty boys at school. She's the "hero" of her class, defending the girls who are often bullied by the boys next door. And as for today, she's playing the Prince in Snow White. Yes, she knocked down the 'real prince' two days before the play. Well, he deserved it. Who ask him to steal Miki's pudding and made her cry? Princes don't do that!

With that, Kikumaru walked aimlessly around the city; stopping once in a while when something attracts his attention.

And that was when he saw it.

There was a crowd formed at the pedestrian lane. A man in his 30s was in the middle, shouting angry and abusive words toward a woman, believed to be his girlfriend. She was cowering and crying.

He called her a "whore", a "slut" and many other shameless words. The crowd grew twice as big in just a minute or so but no one took action - everyone watched on like a stage drama.

Then the man raised his hand and slapped the woman. He proceeded to kick her in the stomach.

Kikumaru was very angry. He stepped forward and was about—

A pair of hand caught hold of the man's wrist, restraining his power.

"WHO ARE YOU!? GET LOST!" The angry man tried to free his right hand but the boy did not move. He showed no sign of releasing the man's wrist or hitting him. The crowd held their breath.

"I SAID DON'T GET IN MY WAY! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? LET GO OF MY HAND!"

"An ordinary school boy who is against violence." And with those words, he pushed the man to the ground.

Fully aware of the situation, the man gave the boy one last look of hatred and disappeared behind the building.

The woman thanked the boy. She thanked him like how a peasant would thank the emperor.

The boy shook his head humbly with a smile, while the crowd clapped and cheered.

"Kikumaru-san never thought I'll see you here." The boy walked towards him.

RING RING RING

"Hello? Ah, Oishi! I'm at the garden… No, I was planning to go later. Hm-mm. What? Sushi at Taka-san's? I'll be there right now! Wait for meeeeeee!"

And Kikumaru grabbed his school bag with a whistle. What happened on that fateful day – will remain a secret between them.

--chapter break--

"What? Out with Sengoku again?" An irritable Shishido asked.

"Ryoh, stop with that look." Gakuto said. "You should know better its Ohtori's 'honeymoon' period."

The others chuckled. Shishido pulled a long face. He threw his cap at the sleeping Jiroh who just... slept on.

"Gather around." Atobe called out.

The regulars stood up and walked towards the centre of the tennis court.

"This is our new menu for practice. Kabaji."

"Usu." The big guy answered and handed out the menu to the rest of the team.

The rest stared at the menu for a long time.

"Atobe, is there a mistake?" Oshitari asked.

"100 laps around the school every morning!?" Gakuto shrieked in horror.

"There is no mistake. Ore-sama never makes any mistake."

"Then why the insane menu!?" Shishido said, alarmed.

"Do you not know that Seigaku and Rikkaidai are organizing joint practice? From what ore-sama heard, both sides had gained a lot of benefit and Hyotei cannot afford to lag behind while these schools try to overtake us."

"Then why don't we organize joint practice too?" Hiyoshi asked.

"Sounds like a good idea, but who are we joining with?" Shishido replied.

The team considered the alternatives they have:

Yamabuki – NO. Not with the animal (Akutsu) there.

Rokkaku – NO. A bunch of poverty-stricken players.

Fudoumine – NO. Not delinquents.

St. Rudolph – NO. There's a dog named M-I-Z-U-K-I.

"So there's no opponent!" Gakuto exclaimed.

"Those that can compare with us – is only Seigaku and Rikkaidai."

"Ore-sama is very clear on this, Yuushi." And that was why Atobe decided that the best method is to push his members all-out.

"But Atobe, we can't run 100 laps every morning!" Gakuto whined.

"You can't or you won't? Ore-sama had decided this. Starting tomorrow everyone gather in the tennis court at 5am."

Few of them grumbled but did not protest further.

Their autocratic policy is well known, and if you refused the order of the buchou - be ready to pack your bag and leave the team.

Atobe shows no mercy. And no one deserves the love of the king if they disobeyed him.

--_**chapter break**_--

"Ne Kamio, tell me… why…"

The Fudoumine member sulked.

"Momoshiro, you asked me out for lunch today – just to talk about this?"

"Ahahahahahaha don't get angry, I didn't mean it! I was just curious, that's all!"

They are sitting in a fast food restaurant. Momo had had 2 burgers and currently digging into his 3rd one without mercy.

Kamio sighed and took a sip of coke.

"3 months ago…" he began.

"WHAT!? You're finally telling me!?" an excited Momo almost spit the vegetables out.

"Are you listening or what!?" Kamio's expression was flush red. He just doesn't understand Momoshiro sometimes.

"Yessir, paying full attention!"

Kamio gave him an annoyed look, but had decided to continue.

"Four months ago… I confessed to him. I was rejected on the spot. And two months after that, he was officially out with Ohtori." Kamio sighed sadly… it was difficult to bring it out in the open, but since Momoshiro insist, he felt that maybe this is a good chance to just let go.

Momo's eager expression turned into sadness.

"Bakayarou! I don't need your pity!"

Momo shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's just that… I felt bad for you."

"… you don't have to. Two hands clap together. Mine was one-sided."

Momo patted Kamio on his head. "Good boy."

"Hey, I'm not your dog!"

Momo laughed.

"But I don't get it, what's so good about him anyway?"

"Gosh Momoshiro, you seriously don't understand these things do you?"

"What?"

"In regard of feelings and emotions, there's just no one or two reasons to like or love someone. You just DO."

Momo pondered hard at the point.

"So when did you start taking a liking to him?"

"I just don't understand why you are so interested in this." But he surrendered. "Well, last year we played against each other in a tournament. Sengoku-san won the game. I was devastated but he came over and cheered me up."

"That's it?"

"Listen, will ya!"

"Sorry."

"About a month after the tournament, we bumped into each other coincidentally."

"Maybe he was following you."

"MOMOSHIRO!" Kamio stood up in anger.

The whole restaurant went silent.

Embarrassed and wanting to dig a grave to bury Momo in, Kamio bowed apologetically and sat down quietly.

"Ahahaha sorry…"

"Just you watch out…" Kamio said between gritted teeth.

"And then what happened?"

"And then we chatted. He bought me ice-cream and we sat at the garden and talked about the tournament. We analyzed the match, our strengths, weaknesses, techniques and shared tennis tips." Kamio finished with a dreamy look. "That was the best time I ever had since losing the match. We were at ease in each other's company and there was nothing we couldn't talk. Soon, we hung out several times a week and even met on weekends to play street tennis."

Kamio turned pale. There was a pained look.

"…and then I realized that I had been thinking of him all day and night. I was anticipating the next time we could meet up and I would call or message him at times, just to keep in touch. I… I… never knew I like him so much." To this point, there were tears brimming in his eyes.

"One day, while we were at the park, we casually chatted about our lives. He asked me whether I have a girlfriend and I said no. Then I return the question to him, to which he answered "if only I do…", with a smile. My heart was thumping so loudly that I thought he might have heard it, and then out of the blue, I blurted out that I like him!" the boy buried his face with both his hands.

"He said,

"I'm sorry… I have always regarded you as a friend."

And it broke my heart! I wanted to cry out loud and I wanted to scream to my heart's content! But all I could do was smile bitterly at him and said, "It's alright" even though it isn't alright at all!"

Momo nodded solemnly in understanding.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AT ALL!" Kamio screamed and ran out the restaurant.

--**owari**--

_A/N_: My grammar's still bad, but I'm fixing it on the way… so bear with me. I normally feel very heavy when I upload new fics, especially the first two chapters because that's the time when you know readers actually enjoy them - or NOT. Therefore I'm seeking your opinion!

Thanks for READING!


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